Photoshop

I have a 10D. My lenses are Canon 28-135 IS, 70-200 f/4L, 300 f/4L IS. I also have a Canon i950 printer. So far I have shot most of my photos in jpeg. I have shot some in raw and played around with converting them etc. I only have Photoshop Elements 2.0 and Photoshop 5.0 L.E. (anyone know which of these is better?) Anyway, how important is it to buy Photoshop 7.0? What additional features does it offer and how important are they?

Chris, it is not important to have Photoshop 7 unless you actually expect to show your work to anybody important.

Seriously, you did not state what you intend to do with your work. If you only show them to your family, then just about any image editor program will let you get the job done cheaply. If you are trying to sell them to somebody, then you need more of an industrial grade program to get the very best results. If you are making images for the web, then it does not take too much. If you are making 30"x40" prints from portrait shots, then maybe it does.

Personally, I use the old Corel PhotoPaint program. It was a competitor of Adobe several years ago, but it is not quite as powerful as Adobe now. Also keep in mind that the fancy programs have a steep learning curve. You don't get something for nothing.

---Bob Gross---

Chris

I now use PS7 but "cut my teeth" on PS Elements. I also had PS 5.0 LE. I opted for elements because most of the magazines etc. were geared towards it and eventually, found there was little that couldn't be done on Elements. PS 5.0 though, had quick mask which is brilliant and wasn't on PSE. I've heard though that it, or something close to it, is in PSE 2.0. You should be able to use them both, depending what you want.

Anyway, I now use PS 7.0 because..... well, because. Bob's spot-on saying that you don't need PS 7.0 and from what I've read other editors are snapping at Adobe's heels especially, within the enthusiast market.

Digital editing is easy and complex. I constantly struggle with this aspect of photography (as well as all the others!). I reckon that whatever you learn in one application will transfer to another even if the interface is very different (IMHO). What you develop is the skills to edit a picture using a variety of tools. The tools might be called something else or found/applied differently but what you have with regard your photos is the same....

Anyway, have fun.

Martin

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Photoshop 2 - now that brings back memories (and a few headaches!)
Just thought I'd share that

not even close...i find that the people that are stating the difference between elements 2 and le have never used elements and dont realize that except for a few small things it is nearly as powerful as 7 while le is a disgrace that has long scared people away from photoshop...

i use 7 i love 7 and i find i need it....
but for most people elements is incredible...

not even a choice...
good luck and good shooting